The ratings of Game of Thrones’ season 6 premiere aren’t what viewers would expect. As more people unplug, more networks are offering independent streaming services. The number does not take into account viewers who tuned in as part of HBO’s free preview weekend.
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Within hours of its release, the first episode of the latest season of Game of Thrones recorded a million illegal downloads but it did not beat its record set by the last episode of Season 5.
Though snapping the debut growth spurt the series based on George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, that April 24 result is only 0.6% less in viewers than what the then record breaking Season 5 GoT opener had on April 12 previous year.
That makes it the third-most-watched episode of the HBO medieval fantasy drama…for now.
In the U.K., “GoT” had 2.2 million viewers for the season 6 premiere. New data published by the site demonstrates just how all-consuming the show is, the first episode having drawn in millions of viewers on HBO and Sky Atlantic and millions more through piracy. As of Monday, there were over 200,000 active seeds of the season six premiere ‘The Red Woman.’ These numbers obviously aren’t accounted for in total viewership, but represent the extreme popularity of the series, now one of television’s biggest weekly events.
“Game of Thrones” is often hailed as the most densely plotted series on television, requiring an open Wikipedia page and keeping a Westeros diehard on hand to explain who’s related to whom and why everyone’s naked or dead.
Yesterday’s episode was seen by a massive 727,000 viewers across the country – a huge 31 per cent jump from season five’s 553,000. Fox News Channel had 1.96 million, TBS had 1.51 million, HGTV had 1.45 million and US had 1.4 million.
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According to Nielsen, “The Red Woman” was viewed by 7.944 million during its premiere telecast at 9 p.m. on April 24.
